Passenger removed off Spirit flight

April 29, 2008|BY KEN KAYE STAFF WRITER

A passenger on a Spirit flight from Fort Lauderdale to Nassau was verbally abusive with flight attendants and made bomb threats just before the plane was to leave the gate Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The flight crew called authorities, who took the man and his baggage off Spirit Flight 461. Investigators with the Broward Sheriff's Office and the FBI detained and questioned the man, whose name was not immediately released.

The rest of the 105 passengers were evacuated from the jetliner while bomb-sniffing dogs searched for explosives. Nothing was found, authorities said.

The trouble started when the man told the crew he wanted to get off the plane just as the main door was being closed at 3:50 p.m. for departure, Misty Pinson, Spirit spokeswoman, said.

"He was advised that wasn't possible," Pinson said. "That's when he made references to a bomb. We take those threats seriously."

After the plane was deemed safe, the passengers re-boarded and the flight departed Fort Lauderdale at 5:10 p.m., she said.

The Transportation Security Administration also was investigating the matter.